


The Birth of a King

by fangedknight



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Deal with a Devil, Established Relationship, Eventual Pumpkin King! Reaper, Fluff and Humor, Gabe Turns into Reaper, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Hurt/Comfort, I don't know what I'm doing with my life omg, M/M, Nightmares, Pre-Overwatch, Pumpkins, Requested from Overship group on Facebook, Slow Build, Soldier Enhancement Program Era, r76
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-10 06:11:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12292959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangedknight/pseuds/fangedknight
Summary: Destiny has a way of doing things. Especially when you don't want to do it. This Halloween things are about to get spooky for Gabriel, in more ways than one.(Or in other words, the one where Gabe becomes the Pumpkin King, eventually)





	1. Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So this was requested by the gang over on the Overship Facebook Group! I said I wanted to write something, gave them poll options and BAM! This is during the SEP and Halloween themed! Was a little tough trying to figure this out but, it's all good. More notes at the end! As always a huge huGE thank you to my Spanish Translator/Beta Angelika! Enjoy!

Darkness. Fire. Smoke was everywhere, in everything. He couldn’t get away—no matter what he did Gabriel couldn’t get away from the smoke. It was thick and black and ugly and felt… evil? Could smoke even be evil? Whether it could or couldn’t be this definitely was.

“No. No get away from me. Stay away!”

A deep, raspy, rumbling laugh came from the pillar of smoke before it darted after Gabriel.

 _“You’ll never escape me!”_ The voice hissed.

Gabriel ran as hard as he could, boots thundering across the ground. He needed to get away, he had to get away.

 _“Run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me I’m the Gingerbread Man! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!”_ The smoke was a sadist on top of a maniac. Great.

The ground quickly changed from concrete to grass with knotty tree roots sprouting up everywhere. Root tendrils tried to snag his feet as the setting changed from a warehouse to a forest right before Gabe’s eyes.

_What the hell?!_

It was too late. His boot caught in a tree root and down he went. “Aarrghh!”

The laughing grew louder and became more maniacal as it descended onto Gabe. _“Mine now, chico~!”_

A scream tore its way out of Gabriel’s throat as the black cloud of smoke surrounded and forced itself onto him.

“NO!”

 

“Gabi?! GABE! WAKE UP!”

Gabriel awoke with a start, a hard gasp quickly coming out of his mouth. His heart thundered in his chest, and his gaze darted every which way, worried that the smoke would return.

“Gabe, honey, are you alright? Hey,” His chin was gently pulled to the left. When his vision focused on the face of his boyfriend, he let out a sigh of relief.

“Jack….” His voice sounded horrid.

“Shh, it’s okay, you don’t have to say anything. Just nod if you’re okay. Are you okay?” The worried expression on Jack’s face spoke volumes and Gabe nodded pathetically. “Yeah,” he whispered. “I’m okay… or at least I will be.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“No, no you don’t need to know what that was.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, trust me.” Gabe shook his head and sighed, dropping it into his hands. “It wasn’t pretty.” He rolled over to check the clock on his nightstand. 4:15 am. “ _Jesus Cristo._ Sweetheart, you need to get some sleep, don’t you have medical in the morning?”

Jack winced a little, “Yeah I do.” He hated talking about it, didn’t want to remember it either. All the injections, the blood tests, too many needles wielded by stab-happy scientists. He shook his head, why did he have to be noble and sign up for SEP? Why.

Gabe noticed Jack’s wince and sighed. “ _Cariño_ , you’re gonna be fine. Don’t worry about it too much.” He nodded, “Okay. But I’m not letting you out of my sight till the morning. Deal?”

“Deal.” Gabe chuckled and tried to make as much room for him as he could on his bunk so Jack could curl up with him. “You know what the first thing I’m gonna do when we get the hell outta here?”

“What?”

“Get a bigger bed.”

Jack laughed and playfully punched his boyfriend on the arm. “Gabi, you’re something else, you know that?”

“Yeah I know. But you wouldn’t want me if I wasn’t, now would you?”

“Nope.”

The bed was way too cramped for them both but, they made it work. After a minute of adjusting and tangling limbs together, Jack managed to get his head on Gabe’s chest with his boyfriend’s arms around him tight.

“You gonna be okay, babe?” Jack mumbled.

Gabe buried his nose into Jack’s hair, having him in his arms helped but he still wasn’t sure about falling back asleep just yet. “Yeah… I think so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter for the first one, I know. No worries though I should have the second one written and posted soon! Chapters might be short till I can get back the swing of writing, it's been a long ass time.
> 
> Translations:
> 
> Jesus Cristo - Jesus Christ  
> Cariño - Sweetheart (Masculine)  
> Chico - Boy


	2. Headaches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabe is not okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! A decent length chapter! Andddd more Gabe problems!! Yeah he's not okay. As always Translations at the end, and a huge thank you still to Angelika. (Honey without you I couldn't do this).

The next morning Gabe had to forcibly peel Jack off and shoo him out of their room to go to medical. “ _Dios Mio_ , Jack you’re only going to make it worse for yourself if you don’t hurry up and go, now go!”

It took a minute, but Jack went, pout and all.  Gabe sighed and rubbed his temples, even after cuddling up with Jack he still slept horribly, and the headache he had spoke volumes of just how bad he had slept. His head throbbed and buzzed, but if he focused enough, Gabe could push through the pain.

_Coffee… need coffee._

He quietly put on his clothes for the day, grabbing his beanie from its usual spot and pulling it on. Walking out of his room he turned and went in the direction of the mess hall, using his nose when his eyes failed him.

_Ugh. Lights are too harsh. Mierda. I need to get as much caffeine in me as possible. Stupid head._

Gabe pulled his hat down over his brows, trying to shade his eyes a bit as he made it to the mess hall. Immediately, he made a bee-line for the coffee, not even putting in his usual sugar and creamer.

“Holy shit Reyes. You never drink it black! Everything okay?”

Gabe jumped and whipped around, coffee still in hand. “Wh—Oh, Sorry Sir. Didn’t see you there. I—”

“At ease.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Seriously though, are you okay?”

He raised an eyebrow at his superior showing any bit of concern. “If I might speak freely, Sir?”

“You may.”

“Is there any reason that you are concerned with my coffee drinking behaviors, Sir?”

The officer’s eyebrows shot up, “Uh… you haven’t looked in the mirror, have you?”

“No, not yet Sir.”

He quickly grabbed Gabe by the arm and turned his face in the direction of the coffee carafe. When Gabe saw his reflection he nearly dropped his coffee, his face was horribly pale and almost ashy looking.

_What the hell is going on!?_

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”  

Something in the officer’s words struck a chord. “I—I should be fine. Probably just ate something I shouldn’t have last night. Thank you for the concern, Sir.”

As quick as possible, Gabe politely excused himself and nearly ran out of the mess hall. God there was something going on with him, but he tried to push it out of his mind for now. He checked the clock. By now Jack was finished at medical and would be getting ready for their live fire training. Gabe downed the rest of his coffee and headed to the training area.

Jack was already ready and waiting for him when he stepped inside. Their C.O. gave Gabe a look but thankfully didn’t say anything. He fell in line next to Jack, they shared a quick glance. Jack was concerned but the look Gabe gave his boyfriend made him worry less.

“Alright boys. This is a simple capture the flag exercise. Lethal force is permitted. Remember, even though you’re going up against training bots, they’re still programmed to kill you. The point of his exercise is to get to the point behind enemy lines and get out without being spotted. Is that clear?”

“Sir, yes Sir!” They said in unison.

“Good. Get your weapons ready and let’s get to it. Fall out.”

Their C.O. stepped over to his viewing post and Jack and Gabe went straight to the gear racks. Gabe grabbed his twin shotguns as usual; Jack opted for his pulse rifle.

“What? No witty remark about my rifle again?” Jack whispered.

“Hrm? No.” Gabe didn’t look up from his shotguns, inspecting them more than usual.

Jack took a step closer to his boyfriend and dropped his voice. “Babe, are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

“I’m fine,” he hissed. “Just… my head hurts, that’s all.”

Jack let out a soft huff. “Okay, but if anything happens I’m dragging you straight to the infirmary. Deal?”

Gabe let out an affirmative grunt and grabbed another bandolier of shells before walking to the starting point. Once they both were at the starting point, the clock blared and started to countdown.

The pair of them bolted and made their way through the maze of makeshift corridors and obstacles, easily avoiding detection. The pain in Gabe’s head wasn’t as bad as before thanks to the dim light, but something still wasn’t right.

  _Fucking hell! Pull it together Gabe, come on!_

Jack was on point and quickly signaled to Gabe that there were bots up ahead. _“2 bots, up ahead. Split up and regroup behind.”_ His hand signals said.

He nodded an affirmative and silently slipped around Jack, taking the left path. This was textbook, go around, stealth it out, regroup. Nothing unusual until Gabe rounded the next corner. Apparently, Jack hadn’t discovered that the point was a lot closer than he first thought.

_Guess I’m gonna get the intel first._

Gabe quickly scanned the area, darting from shadow to shadow until he reached the point. He grabbed the flag and stuffed it into his belt. His next priority was to get back to Jack. Gabe wasn’t paying as close attention as he should have been when he darted down a rather narrow corridor.

_CLICK! CLAK!_

A training bot rounded the corner and stopped directly in front of Gabe. There wasn’t enough of room to dart past him and it was only a matter of seconds before he’d be spotted. The bot whirred and it’s warning light suddenly glowed red.

_SHIT!_

He reacted as fast as possible, bringing his shotgun up and shoving the barrel right into the face of the bot. Before the bot could signal the alarm, he pulled the trigger at point blank range.  

**_BLAM!_ **

The sound reverberated off the metal walls of the tiny corridor, and the muzzle flash lit everything up like the 4th of July. Gabe yelled and dropped his shotgun, hands flying in front of his face. His ears rang too much, he couldn’t see. Everything was so blurry he could barely tell that the lights came back up, signaling that the training session was done. His eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he crumpled to the ground with a thud.

“Gabe!”

Jack ran over to him and shook his shoulders, trying to get him to focus. “Stay with me, Gabe. Come on! Can you hear me?”

He tapped Gabe’s face, trying to get him to perk back up as the medics quickly made their way over to them.

Gabe tried to look up one last time, and froze. Instead of seeing Jack, he saw the thick cloud of smoke taking his boyfriend’s place. Red glowing eyes glared at him from the smoke, _“What’s wrong Gabriel?”_

A spiked, gloved hand with claws reached down to him. _“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”_

_No. Dear God, NO!_

His vision blurred so badly he blacked out, head hitting the floor hard. Something was horribly wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUNNNN!!
> 
> Translations:   
> Dios Mio - My God  
> Mierda - Shit


	3. Hallucinations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so a huge ass thank you and shout out to my awesome translators (YES YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT! I have more than one now!) Angelika and Giovanni! (Giovanni is actually an amazing cosplayer who cosplays Blackwatch Reaper so you need to go check him out. I'll pop his link down at the bottom!) This chapter wouldn't have been possible without you two, seriously you guys put up with me spamming the group chat and misunderstanding the entire language so thank you for the help. <3   
> Anyways! On with the story!

When Gabe finally came to he knew he was in deep shit. Jack was watching him like a hawk, perched on the edge of his chair in the infirmary, ready to pounce at the first sign of trouble.

“Gabe? You finally awake?”

He groaned and tried to sit up, “Unfortunately.”

Jack put a firm, but gentle, hand on his chest and pushed him back down into the hospital bed. “Doc says you have to rest up, the concussion from your shotgun at that close range and tight quarters really messed up your head.”

Gabe grunted and did as he was told. “Yeah… I couldn’t tell.” He tried to smirk a bit, but winced from the pain in his head. “Feels like I’ve been hit by a truck.”

“Close enough.” Jack sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “What the hell were you thinking? You know better than anyone what your guns are capable of at that close range!” He tried to keep his voice down for the sake of Gabe’s throbbing skull.

“Oh, for the love of… Jack come on—”

“No, don’t you ‘Jack come on’ me! That was a routine training mission, and you turned it into World War three out there!”

Gabe tried to sit up a little bit to try and help his position in this but Jack leapt to his feet and stopped him again. “Doc said you could’ve lost a freaking eye or half your face from all the shrapnel you sent flying. And god knows what the hell else could’ve happened to you! Why the fuck were you so reckless!?”

Something inside Gabe snapped. “ _Por dios_ , Jack! Do you really think I did it on purpose?! I reacted! Something we’ve been taught since day one of this _Este demonio programa_!”

He sat straight up, arms waving around as he yelled. Headache be damned. He was sick and tired of all this bullshit already. Gabe snagged his IV line on something and swore up and down, being so fed up he grabbed ahold of it and yanked it right out of his arm.

“Gabe—”

“ _No te dices ‘Gabe’_ _hijo de puta_! _No tienes idea de lo que ocurre en mi mente!_ ”

“Gabe, you’re—”

“ _No! Callate! Tienes suerte yo no quieres tirar la chancla!_ _Idioto_ _chico de oro.”_

Jack winced at the nickname. He hated being called “Golden Boy,” and he recognized “ _la chancla”_ all too well, Gabe had told him stories about his mom and flip-flops. Gabe was _really_ pissed. Jack needed to get him to calm down and fast.

“ENGLISH GABE!”

That got his attention. “I AM SPEAKING ENGLISH YOU—” He blinked. “Oh. Fuck.” The last couple of minutes replayed in his head and Gabe’s face flushed with embarrassment.

“Shit, Jackie I’m sorry.”

Jack sighed. Pet name, he really was upset with himself. “Apology accepted, Gabi. Come on, let’s get you the hell outta here. And gimme your hand.”

Gabe had completely forgotten about the IV. Thankfully it wasn’t gushing blood, just bleeding a little. “Shit. I’m a mess Jack.”

“I know.” Jack grabbed the nearest bandage and patched up Gabe’s hand.

“Why the hell are you still with me?”

Jack chuckled and patted Gabe’s cheek with his hand. “Because I love you, idiot.”  

Gabe slumped his head down onto Jack’s shoulder, letting his boyfriend hold him. “I love you too, Jackie.”

Jack kissed the top of his head, “Just promise me next time you’ll be careful okay?”

“Okay.”

 

Food and a few hours later and Gabe was feeling more like himself. Jack had managed to convince the doctor that he was fine, just a bit dehydrated. It wasn’t too far off from the truth, for all they knew it could be just that. Gabe was given strict instructions to drink lots of fluids and not to push himself unless the situation called for it.

The bandage on his hand itched almost as bad as the other bandages on his arms. Jack wasn’t kidding about the shrapnel, Gabe got out lucky with only a few minor cuts. They would heal up in no time, but he still had to watch out for them.

“Hey babe, I’m gonna go take a shower, okay?” Gabe desperately needed to feel clean after everything that happened today.

“Okay, sweetheart. Just don’t drown on me.” Jack looked up from his book and smiled.

Gabe laughed and rolled his eyes, “I’ll try not to, don’t worry I think there’s a life jacket in the closet somewhere.”

“Top shelf!”

“You can’t be serious....” Gabe deadpanned.

Jack simply shrugged and looked back down at his book. “You’ll have to see for yourself, now won’t you?”

Gabe shook his head, trying desperately to _not_ look for the possible life jacket when he reached into the closet to grab a fresh towel. He started the hot water and sighed happily as the entire room filled up with steam.

_Okay this is exactly what I needed._

The hot water felt amazing on his back, soaking into his skin and purging his body of all the sweat and grime from the day. His entire body relaxed and the pain in his head finally went away.

“Thank God.” He mumbled, his eyes sliding closed as he put his head under the spray.

_“Of course, you have to bring **him** up at a nice time like this.” _

Gabe’s eyes shot open. “Who the fuck’s there?!”

_“Shh! Not so loud, you’ll wake the dead.”_

_Oh no. No no no._

It was the same voice from his nightmare and the one when he blacked out. He was going crazy, he had to be. Gabe whipped his head around, trying to figure out where it was.

“This isn’t real. I’m just exhausted and dehydrated. Nope. Not real. This is not happening.”

The voice chuckled in its deep, unnatural baritone. _“Keep telling yourself that, Gabriel.”_

“How do you know my name?”

_“Please, I know everything there is to know about you. All your dirty little secrets. See, I’ve been watching you.”_

“What?!” His brain automatically went to the worst possible thing. Creepy stalker ghost thing?

_“Don’t flatter yourself, it’s not like that.”_

Gabe tried to contain the sigh of relief, but it was difficult. “Then what’s it like then? You better explain yourself before I fuck you up.”

There was that hideous laugh again. _“Oh my. Chico you got a lot to learn. You can’t kill someone that’s already dead, cari_ _ño.”_

Gabe’s eyes went wide. Dead? How could something be talking if it was dead? He definitely was going crazy.

_“Sorry, not crazy. Well… not yet.”_

“Wait. You can read my thoughts?” Oh, this just got worse.

_“No, actually I can’t, but it’s obvious. You’re an open book Gabriel. Much like your namesake, god I loved messing with him.”_

This was insanity. Utter and pure insanity, and Gabe was smack dab in the middle of it. The water started to turn cold against his back and a shiver ran through his body. “What do you want? Why the fuck are you bothering me? In the shower no less!”

_“Ooo, I like that. Straight to the point.”_ The voice hummed and Gabe could see a bit of a dark tinge to the steam cloud directly in front of him. At least he knew where to talk at.

_“I have a proposition for you. See, I’m a fan of yours and well… let’s just say I’m impressed with your work.”_ The cloud seemed to shift, like it was trying to find the right words. _“I could help you get even stronger, if you wanted.”_

“Stronger? Why would I want to get stronger?” Gabe tilted his head, confused.

_“Why not? You do realize that one day they’re going to have to choose between you and your precious Jack. You don’t want to be unprepared for that day, do you?”_

Gabe frowned. He tried not to think about it, but it was inevitable. One day they would be separated, out ranking each other, or who knows what crazy situation could happen. He didn’t want to lose Jack. Not after everything they’ve been through already and promised each other they’d be together for in the future.

He shook his head hard as if trying to physically clear it. “No, stop. Whatever you’re selling, I’m not buying. You’re not real, this conversation isn’t happening, and I’m out of hot water. So, I’m gonna get out of the shower and you’re going to disappear and never bother me again. Okay? Okay.”

The voice sighed heavily and left the steam cloud. _“As you wish, for now. Just keep in mind, I’ll be in touch. You can’t avoid me forever, Gabriel. It’s destiny.”_

“Yeah right. I’ll believe that when I see it.”

_“Then check in the mirror.”_

The air in the room shifted as Gabe got out of the shower and stepped closer to the mirror. It felt as if the presence had left. Curious, he wiped the condensation off the mirror and gasped at what he saw. His cuts he had from the training incident were gone. Instead of light scarring there was nothing, it was like virgin skin all over again.

_What the fuck?!_

_“You’re welcome. Like I said, I’ll be in touch.”_

Gabe didn’t know what the hell he’d gotten himself into, or how, but he suspected this wasn’t going to be over anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit got real! Here's Giovanni's cosplay page! https://www.facebook.com/DragondePlataCosplay/
> 
> Translations:   
> Por dios - Oh for the love of God  
> Este demonio programa - Godforsaken piece of shit program  
> No te dices ‘Gabe’ hijo de puta! No tienes idea de lo que ocurre en mi mente! - Don't you 'Gabe' me you son of a bitch! You have no idea what's going on in my head!  
> No! Callate! Tienes suerte yo no quieres tirar la chancla! Idioto chico de oro. - No! Shut up! You're lucky I won't throw the sandal at you! Idiot golden boy.


	4. Pumpkins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to quickly write this out before heading off to school this morning. So here we go! As always a big thank you to Angelika and Giovanni!

After the meeting with, well whatever the hell that was, things started to go back to normal. If you could call having anything minor heal up way faster than the doctors ever said it was going to. Gabe would sometimes spot shadowy figures out of the corner of his eye, but he just chalked it up to the inevitable fact that he had to be going nuts.

_There is no way that was real._

Yeah. That’s what he told himself. But deep down Gabe knew it was, the evidence kept pointing him towards it every time. So, he started to do some research. Little by little he combed the library to the point of exhaustion. On several occasions, Jack found him asleep with his head on a book, thankfully Jack was able to save said book from Gabe’s drool.

Three days straight of this and Jack had enough. “That’s it! Nope! Where do you think you’re going?”

“The library—”

“Oh no you’re not mister. I’m not going to rescue another book from the horrible drool of Gabriel Reyes. We’ve got liberty, this weekend, let’s actually use it for a change. That’s okay, right? I’m allowed to spend time with my boyfriend?”

Gabe felt a pang of guilt hit him right in the chest. _Shit._ He didn’t realize how much time he was spending away from Jack on top of their busy schedule. In fact, he was so caught up in what was happening, he had completely forgotten about their liberty to begin with.

He hung his head and sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, _mi sol_. I… I just don’t know what’s going on with me.”

Jack walked over to him and pulled him in for a kiss. “You’re stressed and exhausted and need to get off base for a little while. I know I’m going stir crazy too. Besides, it’s October now, we gotta go pick some pumpkins at least.”

Gabe’s eyebrows went up, “October? Already?”

Jack rolled his eyes and kissed his forehead. “Yes, already. God you’re out of it. That’s it, immediate road trip!”

He quickly gave Gabe another kiss before lightly punching him in the shoulder. “Come on! It’s gonna be great! I already asked about Jack o’ Lanterns and we got the clear. Car’s already waiting outside.”

Jack grinned ear to ear and Gabe realized he was already trapped. Rolling his eyes, Gabe pulled on his hoodie and grabbed his hat.

“There’s no stopping you is there?”

“Nope!”

“Well okay then, let’s get going. How many are we getting this year?”

Jack’s grin got wider and Gabe knew he was in trouble now. “Ten at least!”

Oh yeah. Heap of trouble.

 

Gabe had no clue how Jack managed to get permission for this, but in no time at all they were at the local pumpkin patch picking pumpkins. Big ones, small ones, more big ones! There were pumpkins literally everywhere. Ten soon turned into fifteen and Gabe had to remind himself that Jack _adored_ Halloween.

He adored Halloween with every fiber of his being. _Good lord! How many more is he going to get? Ugh._

“Gabe! Did you pick one yet?” Jack shouted over to him from where he was talking to the farmer.

Gabe rolled his eyes, again. “No, _cariño_ , not yet. Working on it.”

He scoured the patch at his feet, hoping to find something decent so Jack would stop asking about it. _Maybe that one?_ A decent sized pumpkin stood out between a couple bigger ones and he walked over to it, trying carefully to avoid the mess of roots at his feet. It didn’t work.

“SHIT!”

With a small yelp and a loud thud, Gabe went down. Jack bolted over to his boyfriend, “Honey, are you okay?”

Gabe groaned and sat up but he couldn’t see. “What the—I’m blind!” He realized his voice was muffled and something tasted weird in his mouth. _Oh no…._

Jack’s laugh revealed everything. “Oh my—Oh my God, Gabe! You—You!!”

“What! What I can’t see what is it!?”

“You’ve got a pumpkin on your head!!”

Before Gabe could say anything, he heard the distinctive sound of the camera on Jack’s phone snapping a picture.

“You asshole! Get me outta here!”

“I will I will! Once I can breathe!”

Gabe growled and started to tug on the godforsaken pumpkin stuck to his head. “You. Can’t. Be. Fucking. Serious! Get off!”

Jack quickly came to his rescue and helped him get the pumpkin off, saving Gabe’s now pumpkin innards covered beanie. He tried not to chuckle at how messy Gabe’s face was, but it was tough.

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up _, pendejo.”_ He growled and tried to get as much pumpkin guts off of his face as possible.

Jack tried his best to stop laughing long enough to help him out, and gave him a kiss to apologize. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll stop laughing. Promise.”

“That’ll happen when I can walk through walls.”

The puppy eyed look Jack gave him worked way too well and soon enough Gabe wasn’t mad at him anymore. “That damn look should be illegal.”

Jack chuckled and winked at him. “Oh, I know~.”

He walked back over to the farmer, a bounce in his step and a sway in his hips, on purpose of course. Gabe rolled his eyes and pulled the last of the pumpkin off of himself.

_Ugh. I hate pumpkins._

_“I think it looked really good on you, if I do say so myself~.”_

Gabe froze in place. It was back. He tried not to look panicked as he glanced around the pumpkin patch, trying to spot anything out of place.

_“Oh Gabriel. You’re so cute. But you’re the only one that can hear me, and I don’t want to be seen right now. I haven’t put my face on yet. Not sure which one I want today.”_

Immediately, Gabe got the mental image of a shadowy figure skinning someone’s face off, alive. The screams he heard in his mind made him shudder and cringe, and it took everything he had not to alert Jack to what was going on.

_“Ah, that’s much better. Now then, why don’t you like October so much?”_

_You… you just._

_“Oh please. That fool? Had it coming for weeks. Don’t tell me you actually felt something? It was a simple flaying! Nothing that impressive.”_

Gabe stood stock still, his face going pale. What the hell was this thing?!

_“You keep asking yourself that question, but by now I’d thought you’d figured it out. Do you want a hint?”_

His skin suddenly grew hot, too hot, like flames were dancing at his feet and licking their way up his arms. A sudden pang of panic struck him hard and he whipped his head around, looking for anything that might try to hurt himself or Jack, but there was nothing there. He tried to stay calm, but it wasn’t really working.

_What did you do to me?!_

The evil laugh resonated in his head. _“I’m only having a little bit of fun, Gabriel. Come on, you should know who I am by now.”_

The flames, the heat, the fear, the screaming, the torture. Everything pointed back to one thing, one… _person._ But he didn’t want to admit it.

_“Come on, say it~. You know you want to.”_

Gabe breathed the words out in a whisper, eyes wide with fear. “ _El diablo.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun DUNNNNNNN *GASP*
> 
> Translations:   
> Mi sol - My sun  
> cariño - sweetheart/darling/dear  
> pendejo - Dumbass  
> El diablo - The Devil


	5. Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end is nigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the love and support you guys! I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you'll forgive me for the abrupt ending! As always a HUGE HUGE thank you and shout out to the lovely Angelika and Giovanni for making this actually come to life with their help with the Spanish bits! If you're ready, read on loves!

Halloween had finally arrived. Jack was as happy as could be and Gabe was looking over his shoulder every five seconds in case _El Diablo_ came calling. Things had been eerily quiet, _again_. Save for the occasional nightmare, which Gabe quickly put his foot down about not wanting anymore, the being hadn’t bothered him one bit. It was worrisome. What made things worse though, was when Jack and Gabe were called into their commanding officers office.

They stepped into the office and snapped to attention in perfect unison. Gabe spoke for them both. “You wanted to see us Sir?”

“At ease gentlemen.”

They relaxed but kept their eyes on the wall behind his head as he continued. “As you know we’ve had some difficulties dealing with a small terror cell hiding in the rural area outside of Eichenwalde, Germany. So far, we’ve been able to beat them back, however….”

He paused and looked over at Jack and Gabe. “They’ve taken out every squad we’ve thrown at them. So, it’s up to you two to take care of this.”

Gabe noticed Jack twitching ever so slightly out of the corner of his eye. _Don’t worry babe, we’ll get through this._

“This is exactly the kind of situation you two have been trained for. Covert operation, get in, get the intel, take out the enemy, and get out. Is that understood?”

“Sir! Yes, Sir!” They answered in unison.

“Very good. Wheels up in 20 boys. Dismissed.”

They saluted, turned on their heels, and marched back out of the office. Jack sighed heavily as soon as the door was closed.

“Another suicide mission?” He asked.

“Probably.” Gabe replied.

The look in Jack’s eyes said everything he didn’t want to voice. Gabe gently brushed his hand over Jack’s. “C’mon, we’ve got stuff to pack.”

His boyfriend nodded and followed him back to their room. “I hate this.” He said once he was inside.

“I know.” Gabe gave him a forced smile. “Hey, at least we’re doing this together. That’s a good thing, right?”

Jack nodded. “I guess so.”

Gabe rolled his eyes and walked over to him. He took him by the hand and pulled him in close. “Hey,” he whispered. “Look at me Jack.”

He did as he was asked and glanced up at Gabe, waiting for him to continue talking. “We’re going to be just fine. I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine. There’s nothing out there that’s gonna get past me. I promise.”

Jack smiled softly at him. “I know, Gabi. I just… I can’t help but be worried. Something’s not right about this mission. And it’s on Halloween no less.”

“Don’t go getting superstitious on me, now. That’s my job.” That got a laugh out of Jack. “There we go, got you smiling again.”

“Ass.”

“ _Chico de Oro._ ”

Jack scrunched his face up, “Ugh. No, stop that.”

Gabe laughed loudly and kissed him. “Mm, what? Can’t take me picking on you? Thought you were a super-soldier.”

Jack rolled his eyes and playfully punched Gabe in the arm. “I might be a super-soldier, but you know how I feel about that name.”

“I know, I know. Rather call you, _mi sol.”_ He smiled lovingly at his boyfriend. _"He soñado un hombre como usted todo mi vida, y te quiero con todo mi coraz_ _ón.”_

He knew, Jack probably didn’t understand a word he said, but he meant it with all his heart. Jack obviously picked up on it because he blushed all the way up to his ear tips.

“I love you too, Gabi.” Jack kissed him softly, only breaking away to pack his things. “I think we’ve been sappy enough for the moment. Let’s get a move on.”

Gabe smirked, still smitten from the kiss. “Yes Sir.”

 

 

A few hours later and they were boots on the ground, coms on, weapons at the ready. They were just on the outskirts of the Black Forest. “Why do they call it the Black Forest anyways?” Gabe hissed into the coms.

“I don’t think we want to know.” Jack answered.

They went by standard protocol, sticking close, Jack on point. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. The further into the forest they went, the darker it seemed to get. _I guess I figured out what they meant._ They wouldn’t have been able to see much if it wasn’t for the full moon above.

_Full moon. Halloween. Black forest? This is sounding like a horror film. Something’s wrong._

He signaled to Jack and whispered into the coms. “Keep your eyes and ears open. Something’s not right.”

Jack nodded, though he knew Gabe could barely see him. That’s when he spotted it. A small light, only 20 yards off. “Gabe, 2 o’ clock.” He hissed.

Gabe immediately swung around and saw the light. “Is that a campfire?”

“Only one way to find out. But I think so.”

Carefully Jack lead them towards the light. When they got close enough, Gabe realized Jack was right. They had stumbled onto their camp. Something still wasn’t right though. “Jack, I don’t like this. We need to pull out. Now.”

Before Jack could respond, he heard a twig snap behind them and wheeled around. **_BLAM!_ ** Off went the helix rockets and all hell broke loose. The odds weren’t in their favor as Gabe counted 8—No, 10! 10 armed terrorists leaping out of the trees, guns blazing.

Shots rang out, breaking the dead silence of the forest. Muzzle flashes lit up the sky. They managed to take out 4 of the soldiers before Jack got hit. Gabe whipped around, eyes wide as he heard Jack scream and saw him fall.

“NO!”

Gabe’s shotguns went to work and he killed the man standing over Jack at point blank range. He didn’t care that he had blood all over his face, he needed to get Jack out of there. Miraculously, Gabe managed to haul Jack out of the line of fire and get to cover. He could hear the muffled voices of the men searching for them.

“Where the fuck did he go?”

“Hell, if I fucking know.”

“Well find them already!”

Gabe did his best to calm down and evaluate the situation, he pulled back the layers of Jack’s uniform and exhaled a sigh of relief. _He wore his vest, thank fucking God._ His panic came back in a flash though when he pulled his hand away and noticed it was covered in blood. Jack’s blood.

_No. No no no no no!_

While his vitals under his vest were protected, his left shoulder was hit and bleeding fast. If Gabe didn’t do something quick, it was going to be all over. “Stay with me baby, _please_ stay with me.” He was so concentrated on trying to tie a makeshift bandage he didn’t hear the soldier coming up behind him.

_“Gabriel, MOVE!”_

His instincts listened to the voice and he dove out of the way just in time as a bullet lodged itself in the tree above Jack’s head. He heard the yelling from the soldier as he ducked behind a nearby tree. _Goddamnit! Jack!_

_“Concentrate!”_

_You?! What are you doing back, now of all times?!_ Gabe couldn’t believe it. Right now, in the middle of a battle he was talking to _El Diablo_ and trying to save his boyfriend at the same time.

_“Gabriel there’s no time for this right now. They have Jack.”_

_WHAT?!_

Much to Gabe’s horror, he was right. The soldier he’d gotten away from drug Jack’s unconscious body back to the campsite and leaned him up against a tree where he was visible.

“Look what we have here, boys!” A bunch of whoops and whistles were the response.

“What should we do with him?” One of them asked.

The others nodded in agreement and looked to their apparent leader. He rubbed his chin and looked down at the gun in his hands. A wicked smile growing across his face.

“Oh, I think I can figure something out. Looks like our friend out there cares a lot about this pretty boy here. Shame he’s bleeding all over the place.”

The soldier cocked his gun and pointed it at Jack’s head. “Wonder what he’ll do when I blow his pretty little head off!”

Gabe’s eyes went wide and covered his mouth to hide his gasp. He didn’t know what to do. It was 6 against 1, the odds of him being able to take them all out and get to Jack in time were slim to none.

_“Knock, knock. You alive in there, or are you still in shock?”_

He blinked. _What do you want?! They’re going to kill him! I don’t have time to play with you!_

The devil tsked. _“Idioto. I can help you save him.”_

_What?! How?_

There was that deep chuckle again. This wasn’t going to be good at all. _“Even if you managed to somehow kill them all, the chances of Jack bleeding to death before you can get to him are still extremely high. Same in reverse. You try and get to him first and you’re going to die.”_

Gabe growled, snapping back at him. _You asshole! You think I don’t know that already!?_

_“Shh, I wasn’t finished. Listen. You need to save the love of your life and kill those asshats, yes? Well, I need someone to help me out every once in a while. Sounds fair, right?”_

He paled. _You want me to make a deal with you? A deal with the devil? Are you serious?!_

_“As a heart attack I’m afraid~”_

Gabe took a glance over at Jack, his heart was in knots and his head was scrambling. How, how could this be the only way to save him?

“Hurry up and get out here boy! Or he gets it!” The other soldiers were laughing and hollering, cheering their leader on.

“I’m gonna start counting! 10! 9!—”

_NO!_

_“Tick tock, Gabriel. What’s more important? Your soul or Jack?”_

His entire life with Jack flashed before his eyes. All the late nights, the injections, trying to find some solace during the program. When they first met, their first kiss, the awkwardness of the first time they had sex. Literally everything hit him like a freight train.

_“It’s your call, Gabriel. After all. It is your soul.”_

He remembered exactly what he’d said to him before they left for this mission. “‘We’re going to be just fine. I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine. There’s nothing out there that’s gonna get past me. I promise.’” If he let him die now, he’d be breaking that and every other promise he made Jack to protect him.

“8! 7! 6!—”

Gabe’s eyes narrowed, ferocity growing in them by the second. _If I say yes, you’ll help me kill them and save Jack?_

_“On my word.”_

_Swear it._

_“Very well. I swear on pain of the abyss, by my maker father God himself. If you should give me your soul and help me when I request it, I will give you the power to kill all of these terrorists (and more) and help you save your one true love Jack Morrison. Sound good?”_

_Perfect._

_“So yes?”_

“Yes.” He breathed.

Gabe could hear the evil laughter in his ears, suddenly pain as hot as hellfire began to consume him all over. It was so much he couldn’t hold back the scream that tore through his throat like a dying animal. The soldiers were so scared they whipped around, guns pointing in every direction; their leader faltering in his count for a moment.  

“F-Five!” His gun hand shook, and he had to put his other one on it to hold the weapon steady. “Four!” He took a breath. He wasn’t scared. He _wasn’t_. “Three! Two! One!—”

In a split second before he finished the final syllable of, “One,” Gabe struck. Screaming like a banshee, in a flurry of smoke, he dove into the middle of the group of soldiers and opened fire. Thick, black, smoke billowed out from where his legs should have been and he spun in a circle his arms moving like a deadly flower opening for the first time; firing every direction he could while still aiming towards the solders. He didn’t hold back one ounce of his power, eyes glowing flame red, as he watched them drop one after another.  

**_“DIE! DIE! DIE!”_ **

His appearance was horrifying, instead of his normal uniform and beanie, his head had transformed into a glowing Jack o’ Lantern with an evil grin for a mouth. His clothing was fit for a king, black buckles accented a brocade vest that matched his newly crowned pumpkin head. His jacket was dark brown and jagged at the edges, the collar standing on end. And his guns. Oh, his guns had transformed too. Instead of the plain black shotguns, they were grey, black, and glowing bright orange-red like the flames of the candles that were melted onto the grips.

When every single one of the soldiers hit the ground, his spinning stopped and he tossed the empty shotguns to the ground with a growl. Each one of the soldiers was dead, except one. The leader who had threatened to kill his beloved Jack was writhing on the ground, gurgling as he spat up his own blood. He let out a choked scream and tried to slide away from Gabe.

“Who-Who are you?”

The voice that came out of his mouth was anything but human. **_“I am death.”_**

The man’s eyes went wide and he started shaking his head, “N-No. No please! Please have mercy!”

Gabe growled and reached into his jacket, pulling another fully loaded shotgun out of nowhere. **_“Sorry, all out of mercy.”_**

**_BLAM!_ **

He was completely and utterly obliterated by the sheer power of his shotgun. Satisfied with his work but still unsure of what just happened, Gabe stood there panting, trying to regain his bearings until he heard a groan of pain from Jack.

“Jack!”

Everything else was forgotten in that moment and his appearance faded back to normal as he ran over to him.

“Jack, oh god Jack baby, please. Please be okay.”

“Nngh… what-what happened?” Jack tried to crack open one eye and took in the carnage around him. “D-Did you, do this?”

“Shh, I’ll explain everything later. Just relax. Lemme check your wound.”

Jack nodded as best as he could and let Gabe check it over. Sure enough, the bleeding had stopped and it was healed up. _He did keep his word._

_“I told you I would.”_

Gabe looked over his shoulder and finally saw the figure before him clearly, for the first time. He was dressed in black from head to toe, a large skull like mask covering his face.

_Thank you. What do I need to do, now?_

_“For now, finish your mission and take care of your lover. He’s going to need you. I’ll be in touch once he’s settled. I can’t have you working when your head is elsewhere.”_

Gabe nodded. Fair enough. _But… what exactly am I?_

The devil chuckled heavily, it was as ominous as it was devious. _“Oh, you sweet, summer child. You couldn’t tell from your metamorphosis? You’re the new Pumpkin King.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END! I may come back and do an epilogue at some point, but I'm not sure. I have a bunch of other story ideas though. Thank you to all of you who have read it all the way through, I really do appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. This is one of the only multi-chapter fics I've been able to finish and I really love how it turned out.   
> As always, Here's the Translations:   
> El Diablo - The Devil  
> Chico de Oro - Golden Boy  
> Mi Sol - My Sun  
> He soñado un hombre como usted todo mi vida, y te quiero con todo mi corazón. - I've dreamed of a guy like you all my life, and I love you with all of my heart.   
> Idioto - Idiot (Masculine)


End file.
